AP FACT CHECK: TV personality Sherri Shepherd isn’t dead

This May 14, 2014 file photo shows actress-comedian and co-host of “The View”, Sherri Shepherd at “A Celebration of Barbara Walters” at The Four Seasons Restaurant in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)

Sherri Shepherd is alive despite a story shared on social media claiming the television personality suffered a fatal heart attack last month.

The story posted by headlinennews.com uses the circumstances surrounding “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher’s death in falsely reporting Shepherd’s passing. It claims Shepherd suffered a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23 and died later at a hospital.

But it was Fisher who suffered a heart attack on a London-to-L.A. flight on Dec. 23. She died Dec. 27.

Shepherd has posted several live videos on social media since Dec. 23 in which she discussed current events, including one taken at comedian Ricky Harris’ Jan. 5 funeral.

The story also falsely states that Shepherd starred in the movies “The Help” and “Fruitvale Station” and includes photographs of Octavia Spencer, the actress who actually did star in those films.

Shepherd is best known for her work as a co-host on “The View” and her role in the 2009 film “Precious.”

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This story is part of an ongoing Associated Press effort to fact-check claims in suspected false news stories.